Batman: Legion
by Crab Helmet
Summary: Mark 5:9; "And Jesus asked him, "What is thy name?" And he saith unto him "My name is Legion, for we are many."


Cool, white, sterile. The man was enclosed within a prison cube, the walls of the cell lit by a dim electric light set in the centre of the ceiling. He sat directly beneath it, bound within a white starch straitjacket. Nondescript face – bland features. Brown hair, brown eyes. Soulless eyes, smooth, calm. No emotion displayed, mouth relaxed, eyelids half shut. Waiting within the womb for his birth.

Time passed.

Lilith giggled, skipped around the room. Only seven, but so inquisitive, so full of life. Look at her, with her little blonde locks framing those beautiful blue eyes, humming a nursery rhyme. It was one her father had taught her. Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder who you are...

The waters broke. Without a sound, the cell door opened. Two asylum security guards entered, dressed in the customary white lab-coats. The man's face did not register a change, didn't so much as twitch. The first guard gently knelt down and lifted the man up.

"Come on. The doctor would like to see you."

Jack roared in frustration, a guttural, animal call. A vein bulged in his forehead. These guards were pathetic, almost as bad as that shrimp at work. His prided himself on his body, each muscle honed to perfection, and yet here he was, restrained by a two weaklings. He ought to beat the hell out of them.

The second guard held the door open as the first walked through, carefully guiding the man. Beyond the cell was a long corridor, concrete painted an off-white and poorly lit by light bulbs set at irregular intervals. The guards began to march the man down the corridor. Still the man failed to display even the slightest sign that he was aware of his situation.

Eve sighed. Why was this taking so long? She had other matters to attend to that were far more important than this. Business was business, it didn't wait around. Time is money and all that. She wore an indignant smirk on her face, knowing full well these petty guards held down half the salary she did. They were almost as useless as her ex-boyfriend.

The asylum guards reached a door at the end of the hall. A sign on the door read "Psychiatric Treatment – Doctor Blake". The second guard opened the door, the first walked the man through. The room inside was almost totally bare. There was simply a table, small, square, with two chairs either side. One of the chairs seemed quite comfy, a padded seat, armrests. The other was a basic metal framework with a plastic seat. The arms of this chair had handcuffs.

Donovan spat bitterly, phlegm and tar present in the spittle. He'd always known his no-good son would come to nothing. Donovan was an old man now, he wouldn't live much longer, and soon it would be down to his son to uphold the family name. But no. His son was an abject failure, who'd never amount to anything.

The first guard hoisted the man into the chair, and carefully undid the straitjacket whilst the second guard restrained the man's arms in case he attempted hurt himself. Or them. They needn't have bothered, as the man remained motionless. Only his rhythmic breathing betrayed life. Once the straitjacket had been removed, revealing a white linen cloth underneath, the first guard strapped his arms into the cuffs present on the chair. Both guards then left the room, leaving the man alone.

Rat moved around nervously. He hoped the police wouldn't get involved. It wasn't like nobody else adulterated the drugs with other stuff – usually rat poison, it was cheap and looked similar. Besides, the stupid morons shouldn't have got addicted, right? It was their choice to buy his product, they knew the risks.

Doctor Blake entered the room, dressed in a white lab-coat. He had a professional air about him, a sense of calm collected intellect. Half-moon spectacles were perched on his nose.

"Hello. I am your doctor."

Doctor Blake waited to see if there would be response, but none came forth. The man remained silent, his face remained blank.

"Your evaluation comes up next week. I thought I'd see if we could make any progress towards your release. Let's start with the basics. You suffer from multiple personality disorder. So far, I've identified five basic personalities within you – Jack, Eve, Donovan, Rat and Lilith. We've been talking for some while, and introduced me to a lot of different identities, but none of them are you. So, let me ask you a question.

Who is that I am talking to?"

Jack slammed his arms on the table. He was furious now, this idiotic doctor trying to ask him meaningless questions. "My name is Jack. I've told you that so many times already! Now tell me how to get out of this place... or else!" His voice was angered, threatening.

Doctor Blake seemed unmoved. He adjusted his glasses briefly before looking at the man and answering his question."If your evaluation goes well, you will qualify for a supervised release program."

Eve sighed with exasperation. Clearly, Doctor Blake was incapable of understanding that she was perfectly capable of dealing with day to day life. She spoke petulantly. "Doctor, I do believe you are wasting my time. I have a life and a career, you know, and a rather important career at that. Why am I here?"

Doctor Blake leaned forward slightly, hands clasped in an arch. "You're here because the alternate personalities within your head have taken over. You are incapable of functioning within normal society. You have no concept of who you are."

"What kind of a lousy doctor are you?" Donovan wheezed. "Back in my day, we didn't need no shrinks, we dealt with problems ourselves. Besides, I don't need your help anyway." He sat back in the chair grumpily. "I've done nothing wrong."

Doctor Blake frowned slightly, looking at the man over the rim of his spectacles. "I never suggested you'd done anything wrong. Why, is there something you feel the need to tell me?"

Rat chuckled. "You work for the police, don't you? This is some kind of bust, I can feel it. Well, I ain't admitting anything, and you can't make me. This is against the law, this is, this is putting me under duress. I demand a lawyer, that's my rights. Don't you know who I am?"

Doctor Blake calmly looked the man in the eye. "No. No, I don't believe I do. Who are you?"

"My name is Lilith and I am seven years old. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder who you are!" Lilith giggled. The funny doctor kept asking her who she was, just like in the song daddy taught her. "Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky!"

"You're not answering my question."

Again, Doctor Blake waited patiently for a response, and again, the man failed to comment, his face closed.

"What is your name?"

Suddenly, the man's eyes flicked wide open and he grinned, his jaws stretched wide in the grim parody of a smile.

"My Name Is Legion, For We Are Many."

"I'm going to tear you limb from limb!"

"I'm a busy woman, Doctor!"

"You're about as useful as my son!"

"I ain't tellin' nuthin'!"

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star!"

They all stood, talking, talking, talking! The man was twitching now, his hands jerking erratically, his smile growing ever wider. The voices were building, a crescendo that allowed no peace, no peace!

Doctor Blake very slowly took off his glasses, folded them slowly, and placed them on the table. Then, he said "All of you be QUIET!" The forceful authority in his voice shocked them.

The Legion fell silent.

"Thank you. I am here to help you, but I can't do that if you won't listen. The only way you can get out of here is if we all work together. Now, you said something?"

"Legion. My name is Legion." The man said. The grin had disappeared from his face, the twitching stilled, and he seemed awake. Alert.

Doctor Blake smiled. "It's good to have you back, Legion."

The man nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. It's good to be back."

"It's been a long time."

"Yes. Too long."

"Now, we can get back to where we started."

The prison door opened again. Doctor Blake stood, and walked to the corner, watching as a woman walked in, dressed in the same style of white coat. Doctor Blake nodded at her, but said nothing. The woman sat down where Doctor Blake had been, and placed the files she was holding on the table, then pulled a pen out of her coat pocket and scribbled a quick note on the top of one of the files.

"Hello. I will be your interim doctor. As you know, your evaluation comes up in the next week, and if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

The man was silent.

"So. How are you feeling today?"

There was a long pause.

"I feel fine, thank you." said Doctor Blake.


End file.
